Karnataka receives first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines
Bengaluru: The first consignment of 6.47 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines has arrived here on Tuesday, and the Karnataka government said it was committed to conducting the vaccination drive in a transparent way.
According to official sources, the flight carrying the Covishield vaccines landed at the Kempegowda international airport here.
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar's office issuing corrections to his statement earlier in the day, said 6,47,500 doses of vaccine arrived in Bengaluru and Belagavi in the northern part of the state will receive next consignment tomorrow.
Earlier, addressing reporters Sudhakar said, 7.95 lakh vials of Covishield vaccines were arriving in the first consignment.
The vaccine consignment was transported to the state vaccine store in the city in a refrigerated truck.
"The state government will conduct the vaccination drive- whether it is storage, supply or administering as per guidelines- in a transparent way, as directed by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa," Sudhakar said.
COVID-19 vaccination drive will start on January 16, and the state government has already said that about 16 lakh frontline workers in the state will be administered a vaccine against COVID-19 in the first phase at 235 sites.
Noting that the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to Covishield and the Centre has purchased 1.1 crore doses, Sudhakar claimed that there was no other country in the world that has fixed the price of the vaccine at such low rates.
"It has been procured at Rs 210 per dose including GST from the Serum Institute, Pune. The total cost is Rs 231 crore," he said.
The central government will be vaccinating about 3 crore people in the country in the first phase for free of cost.
Observing that each vial contains 5 ml and it will be 0.5 ml per dose, Sudhakar said 10 people can be administered in each vial of vaccine.
"28 days after taking the first dose, a second dose should be taken. The vaccine will help in developing immunogenicity. The vaccine is completely safe and there is no need for anyone to worry or fear," he said.
"If there are any side effects it will be recorded... details of every person who takes a vaccine will be recorded, after getting the vaccine shot the person will have to be in the observation room.
If there is any side effect, there will be facilities to immediately treat them," the minister said adding that the vaccine has been safe during clinical trials.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
